In recent years, the marketplace has seen a proliferation of handheld electronic tablet computers, such as smartphones, ebook readers, personal digital assistants, and slates. As compared to traditional computers, tablet computers tend to be relatively lightweight, compact, battery-powered, and mobile in order to provide a user with the benefits of a computer in essentially any environment. By way of example, the user may conveniently carry and operate the device while working from an indoor office or outdoor setting, watching videos in a reclining chair, or even reading electronic books from the comfort of the user's bed.
The convenience of tablet computers has resulted in a rapid expansion of new developments. Indeed, many users often have their tablet computer in hand for relatively prolonged periods of time each day. As such, many tablet computers require being held and supported by one hand of the user, while the other hand of the user interacts with a user interface of the tablet computer. Although convenient for relatively short periods of time, using tablet computers for these prolonged periods can cause muscle fatigue within the hand supporting the tablet computer. This muscle fatigue further fatigues the user's wrist, arm, neck, and head and often leads to poor posture, muscle strains, and general discomfort and pain throughout the user's body. User fatigue may also lead to dropping and/or damaging the tablet computer. For example, one user may carry the tablet computer at his or her side while walking, whereas another user may hold the tablet computer above his or her head while reading in bed. In turn, the user's grip on the tablet computer may easily fail while walking or sleeping in one or more positions and possibly damage the tablet computer.
Moreover, to at least some extent, the risk of user fatigue increases as tablet computer manufacturers decrease the size of tablet computers, while also increasing the amount of hardware therein. In other words, tablet computers may be decreasing in size, but they are increasing in density. As a result, tablet computers are becoming smaller than may be comfortably held by the user.
One object of the present invention is to reduce muscle fatigue for a person using a tablet computer while also decreasing the user's likelihood of dropping the tablet computer during use.